Let’s Talk Cameras

So I wanted to do a bit of a photography blog post, and while I’m definitely not a pro, if I can help anyone out even a little bit then it’s worth writing about!

I started my blog with one camera, which was Michael’s Canon 600D. Since then I’ve grown and we’ve invested a fair few cameras in my first year, maybe too many!! So let’s talk cameras first then we can move onto other equipment.

Cameras

I love this camera so much! Firstly, it’s design 😍 It’s so pretty to look at and it’s known for it being a blogger’s must-have camera! I’m a big fan of the Olympus PEN, it’s the perfect size to fit in my handbag when I’m attending events and it’s so bloody good even just on auto mode. This means I don’t have to be worried about messing around with the settings, which is especially helpful if it’s a really busy event and I don’t have time to play and experiment with the right settings. I do however want to learn more about the camera and get it off auto mode!

I love the fact the screen flips down, it makes taking flatlays super easy and you just have to just tap the screen to focus it. This camera also so so good for Instagram photos, I take most of my Instagrams with it. You can change the photo size to square so you can see exactly what it will look like on Instagram as you take it. Once you’ve taken it you can quickly WiFi them straight to your phone ready to post. It’s so quick and easy!

This camera is a great all rounder if you want something to take photos and film with and save yourself from buying two cameras! I did vlog on this camera but found my G7X much easier. However if I didn’t have that option I definitely would use this camera for filming, it’s just a bit heavy and chunky the hold up when you’re vlogging.

Canon 600D

This is the camera I started blogging with as it was one Michael already had. It was a great start and also let me film my first YouTube videos. We decided after a while that it needed replacing as it was getting old and with no autofocus during filming, it was really hard to film myself on my own. When I didn’t have M around I’d have to balance a yoga mats where I’d would be sat and focus on that, then try not to move during filming!! Such a faff… the amount of times I had to re-film videos because of focus!!

This is Michael’s new camera and it’s perfect when filming YouTube videos. One of the main reasons for buying this model is so I can film at home on my own easier. It live autofocuses while filming and you can WiFi to your phone or iPad. The autofocus means my face will always be in focus if I move around while filming, and means instead of filming separate product cutaways, I can just hold the product close to the camera and it automatically changes focus. When filming or photographing, Michael’s always been good at helping set things up, but he’s always been rubbish at spotting things like if my hair isn’t looking right! So having the ability to view what the camera sees on my iPhone means I can check my hair and makeup as I’m filming — it’s SO helpful.

I love this camera for vlogging. The screen flips up which is perfect and it means I can place the camera on a table if I’m doing other things and still film. It’s also very small and doesn’t take up much room in my handbag. This also has WiFi however I don’t really use the feature as I’m mainly filming on this camera out and about so I don’t need to!

I used to also use it to photograph events when I was out and about on my own and couldn’t take a big DSLR with me! Thankfully I now have the Olympus PEN, and it’s totally taken over for my photography.

The GoPro is super useful when filming footage when driving, in water, or just leaving it outdoors while filming a time-lapse. I’m glad I have the option of a waterproof camera, and it’s super easy to use and hooks up with an app. It just offers that bit of variety when filming.

Lenses

This is the kit lens that came with the Olympus PEN. I don’t use this lens much, I only really use it if I’m in a busy restaurant and can’t stand back far enough to use my 45mm lens. I did use this lens for filming a vlog once when I was trying out vlogging on this camera. If you were to use the Olympus PEN for vlogging then you’ll need this lens.

The lens every blogger needs in their lives! I absolutely love this lens for my outfit photos and it’s my main lens for the camera. I can’t wait to maybe add more lenses to my collection, however at the moment I’m so happy with the 45mm. I get the perfect blur on all my photos!

A lens in a body cap… crazy!! This is my newest addition and I haven’t had much of a play with it yet. It’s super slimline and a nice wide angle lens. When set to the ∞ setting it lets you shoot away without having to worry about focussing. It’s super cool and I can’t wait to play with it more. This lens was very kindly gifted to me by Olympus!

We bought this lens as it’s perfect for photography when you want to get a good depth of field, but also as it goes down to 17mm so it’s great for shooting videos indoors. This is what I shoot my sit-down YouTube videos on, and for the best depth of field we use f2.8 and 50/55mm, which is also great focal length for portrait style things.

Other Equipment

WOW, the difference this makes when vlogging is crazy. It lets me hold the camera much easier, and means I can quickly set it up to get the shots I need, for example when I’m cooking I can angle it differently rather than always plonking it on the side! It’s really flexible and means I can place the camera in so many awkward places if needed.

Really random one, but this is for the Go Pro and means I can get some really cool time-lapse shots. I love the effect and it works well on the table at restaurants and for sunsets! However, do be careful in restaurants and keep an eye on it to make sure you don’t let the buzzer go off! Otherwise people willl think you’re mad!!

This pouch is perfect to protect my Olympus PEN when on the move. It’s such a beautiful camera I’m really careful with it and don’t want to bang or knock it. Keeping it in this pouch means I can travel with it and store it safely without having to worry about it. A must have!

Sound is so important in videos and is neglected a lot of the time. Getting a professional microphone is really one way to step up your YouTube game. This microphone is very highly rated and is extremely good.

Pro tips: If you use this adapter you can plug the mic into your phone or computer to record amazing quality audio voiceovers! If you’re filming outside, don’t forget to buy a deadcat (not literally!) to keep out wind noise!

Other

A brief mention of the other things I use:

Smartphone Mount — This is super useful to let you mount a phone onto a tripod or a GorillaPod. I used it over Christmas to film a time-lapse of putting up my Christmas tree as the iPhone has a really cool time-lapse mode.

Tripod — Another must have, however at the moment we’re about to upgrade our tripod as we’re using a free Jessops one we got with our camera, but it’s fairly flimsy and not that great. We’ll probably go with a compact one from Manfrotto. You can’t go wrong with Manfrotto!

Monopod — This is something Michael really wanted to invest in as it’s useful for filming and keeping moving shots stable. There’s some cool things that can be done with it so keep an eye on my YouTube channel in the future!

Lenspen — This is a must have for all photographers. It’s perfect to clean lenses with, which is something I do regularly to make sure I don’t take a bunch of shots only to realise there’s marks visible in the photos!

Lights — Lighting is so import, and that’s a whole other blog post that I want to write one day. So I don’t want to go into detail here as I won’t even skim the surface!

Reflector — Olympus also very kindly sent me a reflector, which I’ll also mention more in a lighting blog post.

I hope this blog post has been helpful! If I’ve missed anything or you have any questions about my gear or how I use it then please do ask in the comments.

Disclaimer: This blog contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclaimer.